Cerebral palsy (CP) is a clinical condition that impairs, leading to functional disabilities and developmental challenges in children. This clinical condition can restrict daily functional abilities and disrupt the quality of life of children in relation to their health. It can even lead to fatalities if there is a deterioration of the clinical condition and simultaneous clinical complications such as neurological, cardiovascular, or respiratory complications (Ashrafi et al., 2018).
Most physical disabilities can be improved through rehabilitation therapy, and in addition, some medications are also indicated to alleviate seizures and movement difficulties (Delgado et al., 2010). In some cases, neurosurgical and orthopedic interventions can help to enhance recovery. However, the success of these therapies is limited because there is no treatment targeting brain injuries (Kiasatdolatabadi et al., 2017). Therefore, new therapeutic options are needed to further enhance physical function and quality of life for patients.
Lately, stem cell therapy has become a healing-targeted treatment strategy. Stem cells originating from human umbilical cord tissue, commonly known as Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells (UCMSCs), represent a type that offers advantages in terms of accessibility, low immunogenicity, and immunosuppressive potential compared to other stem cell types, thereby reducing the risk of rejection (Gu et al., 2020). Animal studies on UCMSCs in cerebral palsy (CP) have shown functional improvements with a reduction in brain lesions detected post-transplantation (Morioka et al., 2017; Zhou et al., 2015; Zhang et al., 2014), while clinical case reports have demonstrated enhanced gross motor and cognitive functions following transplantation (Okur et al., 2018).
Currently, ProSTEM along with the research team led by Prof. Dr. dr. Hardiono D Pusponegoro, Sp.A (K), is conducting a clinical trial titled "Clinical Trial of Therapy Allogeneic Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells Conditioned Media(UCMSCs-CM) and Allogeneic Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells (UCMSCs) for Children with Cerebral Palsy at the National Brain Center Hospital and Columbia Asia Hospital, Jakarta. The ethics clearance number for this study is : No.UM.01.05/12/056/2019 . It is hoped that this research will improve services in the field of neurology, particularly in the area of cerebral palsy therapy.
Refrences :
1Â Ashrafi F, Zali AR, Pakdaman H, Behnam B, Ahmadi MA, Harandi A, et al. 2018. A review on stem cell therapy in cerebral palsy with a focus on motor function improvement. Arch Neurosci. 5(1):e59387.
2 Delgado MR, Hirtz D, Aisen M, Ashwal S, Fehlings DL, McLaughlin J, et al. 2010. Practice parameter: pharmacologic treatment of spasticity in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (an evidence-base review). American Academy of Neurology. 74: 336-343.
3 Gu J, Huang L, Zhang C, Wang Y, Zhang R, Tu Z, et al. 2020. Therapeutic evidence of umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cell transplantation for cerebral palsy: a randomized, controlled trial. Stem Cell Research & Therapy. 11:43.
4 Kiasatdolatabadi A, Lotfibakhshaiesh N, Yazadankhah M, Barough SA, Jafarabadi M, Ai A, et al. 2017. The role of stem cells in the treatment of cerebral palsy: a review. Mol Neurobiol. 54(7): 4963-4972
